Peach Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping

Summertime means seeing a whole host of fruits that I would generally not see in the stores for the rest of the year.  Stone fruits are the ones I look forward to most:  peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums.  Yummy, yummy fruits that make their appearance for only a couple of months during the year.  And since I’ve been on a coffee cake kick this year, why not try peaches in a coffee cake?!  It will not be as juicy and heavy as a peach pie, but it still will be delightful (because you can eat more of it).

While the Georgia peach may be king, my state of Virginia (well, Commonwealth of Virginia technically speaking) has some peach orchards too.  As of the last USDA Census of Agriculture from 2012, Virginia has about 244 peach farms (see Press Release on Virginia Peaches).  The new Census is wrapping up–I wonder whether the numbers will change.  Peaches are available in Virginia during the July and August summer months.  It’s not in the top 20 agricultural products for Virginia, but it’s still notable.  Most notable is how delicious they are!  If you live in Virginia and are interested in checking out a U-Pick Farm, try this website for information on U-Pick Farms in Virginia.

For this coffee cake, I used 6 peaches.  Honestly, it might have been five peaches in the end since I did so much taste-testing before the peaches made it into the cake!  But before getting to the peaches, I got some basic tasks done and out of the way.  I prepared a 9″ x 13″ x 2″ pan by greasing and flouring it.  Then I got the dry ingredients ready by sifting the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Next, I beat together granulated sugar, brown sugar (reserving 1/4 cup for the peaches) and the eggs.

I added in some canola oil and vanilla.

I took a break from the batter in order to prepare the peaches so that they would be ready to go soon after I added in the flour.

I halved each peach to remove the pit.  [Cut in half up to the pit and then twist one half off to expose the pit for removal.]  Then I peeled and slices each half into 6 slices or so.

I tossed the peach slices with the reserved brown sugar and cinnamon.

I also needed to prepare the crumb mixture before finishing up the cake batter.  To make the crumb mixture, I simply rubbed some cold butter pieces with flour, sugar, and cinnamon with my fingers.

I kept rubbing the mixture with my fingers until it resembled coarse meal.

Back to making the cake batter.  On low speed, I gradually added the flour mixture into the egg mixture, as well as some milk, mixing until the batter was thick and smooth.

I poured out about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing with a spatula.

I then scattered 1/2 the peach slices over top.  There aren’t enough peach slices to tightly arrange them in one layer as you might in a tart shell, so don’t even try to do that or you won’t have enough peach slices for the second layer!

Spread over top about 1/3 of the cake batter.  Then scatter the remaining peach slices on top of the second layer of batter.

I spread the remaining batter over top–there might not be enough to completely cover the peaches and that’s OK.  Then I sprinkled the crumb mixture evenly as the final layer.

I baked the cake for about 60 minutes and let the cake completely cool on a wire rack.

When at room temperature, I couldn’t wait to taste it, so I went ahead and cut a few portions and served them to myself and my kids.

As you can see from the photo below, the peach slices are scattered throughout.  The dough probably would have been still raw if I opted for having one thick layer of peaches in the middle.  Maybe one dense layer of peach slices on top would have worked though, just like with plums?  I’ll need to try it that way with our next batch of peaches!

I refrigerated the rest of the cake overnight.  It seems as though coffee cakes taste better on Day 2.  Sure enough, it did taste better the next day.  We all had a slice, enjoying every last crumb.

Peach coffee cake to the rescue!

Print Recipe

Peach Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping

© 2018 HollyTrail.com

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

American

Keyword

Coffee Cake

Cook Time

60 minutes

Servings

Bars

Ingredients

Cake

• 5-6 medium fresh peaches (about 3 cups, sliced)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar, divided
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, room teperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegetable oil (e.g., canola, but not olive oil)
• 1/3 cup milk

Crumb Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Course Dessert Cuisine American Keyword Coffee Cake Cook Time 60 minutes Servings Bars Ingredients Cake 5-6 medium fresh peaches (about 3 cups, sliced) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup brown sugar, divided 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs, room teperature 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup vegetable oil (e.g., canola, but not olive oil) 1/3 cup milk Crumb Topping 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13 inch x 9 inch x 2 inch pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, paddle attachment, beat 3/4 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs together for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Mix in vanilla and oil until well-combined. Set aside.
3. Cut peaches in half. Remove pit and peel. Slice each half into 6 slices. Toss peach slices with remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Prepare crumb topping: Combining flour, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Divide butter into 4 pieces and scatter onto flour mixture. With your fingers, work butter into dry ingredients until crumbs resemble coarse crumbs. Set aside.
5. Finish making the cake batter. On low speed, gradually mix flour mixture and milk into egg mixture until batter is smooth, being careful not to over-mix.
6. Transfer 1/3 of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spread and smooth with spatula. Scatter 1/2 of the peach slices (without juices) over top. Cover with 1/3 of the batter. Scatter remaining peach slices on top of second layer of batter and cover with remaining batter. Sprinkle crumb topping mixture over top.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares and serve or refrigerate overnight before cutting and serving.

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